Ga'hoole Calendar
]] The owls of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree use a form of lunar calendar to keep track of the seasons and special occasions, with many celebrations taking place on solstices and equinoxes. They also use moon cycles to gauge time, with one "moon" being about 30 days / a month long. Their New Year's Day is the winter solstice, December 21. Periods of the Day First Lavender - Sunset, when most owls get up Tween Time - Twilight First Black - Nightfall. Owls eat tweener, the first meal of the night, at this time. Deep Grey - Before dawn. Owls eat breaklight at this time Twixt Time - Twilight before dawn First Light - Sunrise, when most owls fall asleep Seasons At the Great Tree, the seasons are named after the color of the tree's milkberries: Silver Rain - 'Spring '''Golden Rain - '''Summer '''Copper Rose / Copper-rose Rain -' Autumn '''White Rain - '''Winter In the Northern Kingdoms, the seasons have different names: '''Soffen issen (soft ice) - Spring Ny schnee (no ice) - Summer Liffen schmoo (light frost) - Autumn Brikta schnee (deep snow) - Winter Holidays Founder's Night Also known as Long Night, this holiday takes place on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. Said to be the biggest celebration of the year, with flying contests, where the winner is crowned with wreaths made from vines. There is a hunting contest, and then a great feast is held and the owls share the prey from the hunting contest. * Date: Dec 21 every year Owlipoppen Festival This festival takes place on the first full moon after Founder's Night. Owls create elaborate owlipoppen, or owl dolls, which are placed on rafts and pushed out to sea in the hope that they take bad luck with them. * Next Date: Dec 22 2019 * Future Dates: Jan 20 2020, Dec 30 2020, Jan 17 2022, Jan 6 2023, Dec 27 2023, Jan 13 2025, Jan 3 2026 Egg Festival This minor festival takes place on the vernal equinox, a time in fall when the day and the night are the same length. Owls from all kingdoms celebrate the beginning of spring and the many eggs the season brings with it. Some owls put egg-shaped stones in the nest for good luck, and when the moon rises expectant parents hoot and screech with all the other owls in the tree. * Date: March 20 every year Nimsy Night This holiday takes place on the summer solstice. It is the shortest night of the year, and classes are cut short and owls have as much fun as possible, welcoming the steadily growing nights. The Tree is decorated with all things green, some of the owls donning green as well. Owls also harvest herbs to be dried, and have a feast. They traditionally have a "snake bake", feasting on escargot. * Date: June 21 every year Moon Festival This festival takes place on the eighth full moon of the year, when it's said to be its brightest. The owls tell a legend; There was once three moons in the sky, and an aging, Vilis, envied the youth and speed or younger owls. Vilis went to a magical spider, Zuzanna, who gave him an elixir that gave him the strength of a thousand owls. He flew up to the moons and plunged two into the sea to pay back Zuzanna, making the night dark. However, his mate, Ilona, grew jealous of his strength, and drank some of the elixir, and ended up stuck on the moon. Zuzanna granted Vilis to visit his mate once a year, and on this night the moon shines the brightest. * Next Date: July 16 2019 * Future Dates: Aug 3 2020, July 24 2021, Aug 12 2022, Aug 1 2023, July 21 2024, Aug 9 2025, Aug 26 2026 Milkberry Harvest Festival This festival takes place on the autumnal equinox, and is well documented in The Rescue. All chaw classes are cancelled for seven days to harvest the Milkberries, and all manner of Milkberry treats are eaten. Owls also have dances, and drink Milkberry wine. * Date: Sept 22 every year Punkie Night This celebration, reminiscent of Halloween, takes place on the first new moon after the Milkberry festival. Owlets make masks that resemble other species of owls and birds, and go from hollow to hollow performing tricks, singing and telling jokes in exchange for treats, called galooshing. Owlets play games like blooking for milkberries (the owl equivalent of bobbing for apples) and play tricks on older owls, such as putting tree sap in their nests. * Next Date: Sept 28 2019 * Future Dates: Oct 16 2020, Oct 6 2021, Oct 22 2022, Oct 14 2023, Oct 2 2024, Oct 21 2025, Oct 10 2026 Balefire Night The exact date of this festival isn't verified, it simply takes place at the end of Autumn. (It could well be based off the British holiday Bonfire Night, which takes place on November 4.) Owls of the Great Tree make a large bonfire on the beach, and fly around it, testing out their flying skills on the strong updrafts. Only cooked food is eaten on this night, seeing as it celebrates how the Guardians learned to utilize fire. There are competitions in hunting and flying, and at the end of the night the embers are taken to the forge. Category:Culture Category:Owl Language Category:The Great Tree Category:Celebrations and Holidays